Would Accept Kin’s Abortion Option, Bush Says

President Bush said Tuesday that if his granddaughter became pregnant and wanted an abortion he would “try to talk her out of it” but would stand by her if she chose to terminate the pregnancy.

Asked if the abortion would be her decision, he replied, “Well, who else’s could it be?”

Bush’s statement that he would support the child--in response to a question during an interview with “Dateline NBC”--was similar to one made several weeks ago by Vice President Dan Quayle on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”

Both Bush and Quayle oppose abortion, and the GOP platform endorses a constitutional ban on the procedure.

“If my granddaughter said, ‘I’ve done something terrible, I’ve robbed, I’ve stolen something,’ I’d stand by her. I think that’s what the vice president was saying. (It) didn’t mean he condoned the act. But he said he’d stand by his child. Of course I’d do that. My granddaughter, my son, my daughter, whoever it is.

“We’ve done that all our life as a family. . . . Would I support my child? I’d put my arm around her and say, if she was trying to make that decision, encourage her to not do that, but of course I’d stand by my child. I’d love her and help her, lift her up, wipe the tears away, and we’d get back in the game.”

When interviewer Stone Phillips asked, “So in the end, the decision would be hers?” Bush responded: “Well, who else’s could it be? . . . I’d like to be able to influence for, for the belief I have. You see, I’m offended by 1.5 million abortions. I’m offended by that lack of respect for life. . . . But your question was if she went ahead and did it, what would I do? . . . I’d . . . love her.”

Then Bush was asked what he would say to a grandchild who announced that he or she was gay.

“I’d love that child. I would put my arm around him and I would hope he wouldn’t go out and try to convince people that this was the normal lifestyle, that this was an appropriate lifestyle, that this was the way to be,” the President said.

“But I would say, ‘I hope you wouldn’t become an advocate for a lifestyle that in my view is not normal, and propose marriages, same-sex marriages as a normal way of life. I don’t favor that.”